The visit of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to Ankara this week presents his country with a unique opportunity as it seeks to enter NATO, the Turkish president's communications director said on Monday
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th November, 2022) The visit of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to Ankara this week presents his country with a unique opportunity as it seeks to enter NATO, the Turkish president's communications director said on Monday.
"The visit of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to Ankara should be viewed as a historic opportunity for Sweden's bid to join NATO," Fahrettin Altun was quoted as saying by state news channel TRT Haber.
Kristersson's trip to Turkey on November 7-8 is the first since his right-wing government took office in October. He is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.
Kristersson faces the difficult task of convincing Turkey to allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO after Erdogan said that the steps taken by the two Nordic nations would determine how fast the entry process would go. Turkey and Hungary are the only members who have not formally ratified the accession protocol.
The Nordic pair applied to join the military alliance in May in response to the Russian security operation in Ukraine, but Turkey blocked their bids, citing the applicants' refusal to hand over people seen as terrorists by Ankara. The two countries signed a deal with Turkey at the NATO summit in June, pledging to address Turkey's security concerns.
